Description of the course: This course will develop the written and oral communication skills necessary for policy professionals. Weekly writing assignments allow students to draft specific types of written work, from tweets to memos to scripts for TED Talks. The goal of the class, in addition to improving students’ writing across a range of formats, is the development of a portfolio useful in securing a summer job placement or internship.
Requirements and expectations: Students will be expected to write a great deal, and assessment will be on the basis of weekly assignments, weekly peer-review exercises, office-hour attendance, a mid-term exam, the quality of a final portfolio of writing, a TED talk, and class participation.
Readings: Assigned reading will be light, and students will be expected to come to the first class having already read the single assigned book:
Strunk, William, and E. B. White. 2009. The elements of style. 50th Anniversary ed. New York: Pearson Longman. (or any other edition)